An arrestee on his way to the SB Co. Jail was injured when the police car he was being transported in was struck by another vehicle on a City street.

Disclaimer: The following written and photographic content may contain materials offensive to professional journalists, sensitive English teachers and others who are highly sensitive. Continue reading at your own risk.

In the early hours of Saturday morning, the driver of a Honda sedan ran a red light at the intersection of Victoria and Santa Barbara Streets, colliding with a Santa Barbara Police Department car.

The Honda was traveling eastbound on Victoria Street when the driver failed to stop for the red light. Additional Santa Barbara Police Department officers, as well as paramedics and SB City firefighters immediately arrived on scene. The driver of the Honda was questioned and given a field sobriety test. It does not appear that alcohol or drugs were involved in this accident.

Police and paramedics immediately tended to the injured victim, who had been handcuffed and seat belted into the backseat of the patrol car. Fortunately his injuries appeared to be slight in nature and limited to one of his legs. He was transported by ambulance to Cottage Hospital and later booked into custody at County Jail.

According to officers at the scene, the driver of the car mistook the reflection of the opposing green light for his own, and proceeded into the intersection. The cause of the accident is presently being documented as due to an inattentive driver.

This the the exact location of a tragic bicycle v. SUV accident which occurred a couple of months ago, when a young woman, riding her bicycle ran the same light. According to witnesses at the scene of that accident, the bicyclist, also heading eastbound on Victoria, appeared not to have even noticed that she had the red light. She was seriously injured as a result of being hit by an SUV, which was heading up Santa Barbara Street.

The last photo in this story shows the traffic signals controlling this intersection. It appears that along with the red light, the green light meant for the Santa Barbara Street traffic is quite visible to those traveling eastbound on Victoria Street. It's therefore possible that when approaching this intersection eastbound after dark, if one is anticipating a green light, one could certainly mistake the SB Street green light as his or her own.

Fortunately neither driver suffered injuries as a result of this accident.